HMS Shannon Captures USS Chesapeake, June 1, 1813

HMS Shannon captures USS Chesapeake, June 1, 1813

Captain Philip Broke drilled and trained the crew of the Shannon for seven years. It paid off. He captured the Chesapeake off Boston in a 15 minute fight. Evenly matched, Chesapeake, under Captain James Lawrence for only a few days, had been blockaded in Boston for months and was no match for the British, who got off 362 shots for 158. Buttersworth did not paint Shannon firing, for it would have spoiled the painting. Lawrence was shot in the fight, and died in Halifax, leaving his dying words to the U.S. Navy “Don’t Give Up the Ship.”